By CYRUS OMBATI
Nine police officers killed in Tana River clashes bled to death, according to a postmortem report.
The autopsy revealed the officers were hacked with sharp machetes. Senior officers who attended the exercise at Chiromo Mortuary on Wednesday said none of the bodies had gunshot wounds.
“We have seen the report and it indicates they sustained deep cuts,” said an officer. The officer who sought anonymity said the bodies bore machete, spear or knife injuries to the back and top of their heads. It also emerged that two officers were from Administration Police unit and had just graduated from AP Training College in Embakasi a week earlier. Four General Service Unit officers, two other APs, and one from the regular police were killed.
Questions are mounting about why the officers died without firing a single shot at attackers. But other officers complain they had been instructed not to use weapons. There were 32 police officers deployed at Kilelengwani village following last month’s massacre.
CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS
The first group of the 2,000 officers deployed in the area left Nairobi on Thursday morning aboard new buses. They include 1,800 officers who graduated on Wednesday from General Service Unit Training College in Embakasi, Nairobi.
Commissioner of Police Mathew Iteere said the officers have been given clear instructions to deal with the menace and are under guidance of senior officers, who are already in the area.
“They have also been supplied with commensurate logistics, including air cover to ensure crimes going on there are dealt with conclusively.
Police have been restrained from using force in the new constitutional order. Deputy Police Spokesman Charles Owino said they would not want to face a tribunal. This was in reference to crimes against humanity charges against former Commissioner of Police Hussein Ali at the International Criminal Court. Ali’s charges were not confirmed.
